127: Chapter 127 This child's comprehension is exceptional.

"Everyone, pay attention, incense burning countdown in 10 seconds."

The cold mechanical voice interrupted everyone's shock.

In the censer at the center of the hall, an ancient stick of incense stood silently, with a faint glimmer at its tip.

"Is this the Enlightenment Incense?" someone exclaimed in a low voice, unable to hide their curiosity.

"Hurry up and shut up and sit down! Didn't you see everyone else is seated? Hurry up!"

His companion urged anxiously, pulling that person to quickly sit down on the futon arranged neatly before the mural.

Outside Plaza.

The light screen clearly reflected every detail inside the Enlightenment Chamber, including the raised stick of incense.

"Enlightenment Incense, that's a great item to aid in Dao Comprehension," someone in the watching crowd murmured.

"Yes, it is said to greatly help people enter concentration, calming the mind, making them less susceptible to distracting thoughts," the person next to him agreed.

Another person interjected: "What's even rarer is that I heard the blue smoke emitted when this incense burns contains a strange energy that can slightly stimulate the Divine Soul for a short time, increasing Comprehension Ability by about five percent. Although the boost isn't huge, at this critical moment where every second counts, a five percent difference might determine the ranking."

"That's true. Especially at the moment the mind first immerses itself into the mural's world, this slight boost is very likely the key to speed."

Listening to the discussions around them, many examinees hearing about the Enlightenment Incense for the first time, including Li Wen, understood the situation.

Li Wen's gaze swept over the stick of incense in the light screen, a thoughtful glint flashing in his eyes.

Inside the Enlightenment Chamber.

"Ten, nine— — — three, two, one!"

The countdown ended.

The tip of the Enlightenment Incense in the censer suddenly lit up with a spark, and then, a wisp of light-blue smoke carrying a strange fragrance curled upwards, quickly and lightly spreading throughout the hall.

The two hundred Geniuses, regardless of their mood, all took a deep breath at this moment, forcibly suppressing all distracting thoughts, concentrating their minds as never before, focusing their eyes on their nose, and their nose on their heart.

Then, all their focus was cast upon the massive mural that held endless Martial Dao mysteries.

The assessment officially began.

The core of this stage was to see who could comprehend more Moves, and who could enter the deeper 'concentration' state faster, truly sinking their Divine Soul into the Martial Dao Concept carried by the mural.

The external sign to judge whether one had successfully 'entered the spirit' was to see if the blue smoke from the Enlightenment Incense swirled and condensed into a circle above their heads.

Outside Plaza.

The three-dimensional light screen faithfully displayed the state of everyone inside the room.

The two hundred people were motionless like clay statues, and an invisible pressure permeated the air.

"Who among this batch will enter concentration the fastest?" a spectator couldn't help but ask.

"Du Yun will definitely rank first, right? He has the highest ranking on the Blue Star Youth List among this batch! A high ranking on the Youth List often means realizing the Momentum Realm earlier, which itself is a manifestation of strong Comprehension Ability," someone said confidently.

"I don't think so," another person shook his head in rebuttal. "Realizing the Momentum Realm early proves Comprehension Ability isn't low, but some people have low skill levels and their Comprehension Ability isn't necessarily low. Some people were delayed because they started martial arts late, or lacked Martial Dao resources, and so on."

The crowd discussed animatedly, their gazes darting back and forth between the two hundred figures on the light screen.

Time quietly slipped away amidst the bated breath.

One minute—two minutes—three minutes.

Just as the third minute was about to pass.

In the light screen view, an ordinary-looking, nameless youth sitting in the back corner, whom almost no one had noticed before.

Above his head, a few wisps of curling, drifting blue smoke from the Enlightenment Incense suddenly converged towards his head as if drawn by an invisible force, swirling, condensing, and finally, steadily forming a complete, round smoke ring.

"Hiss—"

"So fast?! Only three minutes?"

The crowd constantly staring at the light screen instantly erupted in a wave of suppressed gasps.

Everyone saw the clear and unmistakable smoke ring symbol above the youth's head.

"Who is this person? Does anyone recognize him from before?"

"No impression at all! His preliminary selection ranking must have been quite low."

"Heavens! I remember the fastest record for entering the spirit last year was four minutes, right? He was a full minute faster! This speed of entering concentration— — — —"

"Too astonishing! Even if his subsequent overall ranking doesn't make the top two hundred, based on this speed of entering concentration alone, Kindling University might make an exception and specially recruit him." Amazement rose and fell across the plaza.

The ordinary youth's name instantly became the focus, although most people still didn't know his name.

The Marquis-level Experts on the main platform, including Marquis Qingyuan and King Chu He, also cast their gazes on this inconspicuous figure with gravity for the first time.

Li Wen's brow moved slightly, but the depths of his calm eyes were completely still.

The discussions of the outside world did not affect those inside the Enlightenment Chamber in the slightest.

They were still staring intently at the mural in front of them.

Du Yun, sitting cross-legged among the crowd, was not affected by the person who entered concentration in three minutes.

In his eyes, there was only the mural on the wall before him, depicting the trajectory of a long spear piercing through the nine heavens.

Every tremor of the spear tip, the layered progression of power, until piercing that final wisp of obstruction—the Shi.

The memory of countless past times tempering the muscles of his spear hand was triggered, as if precisely ignited by these ancient lines.

A barrier deep in his consciousness seemed to break open with a soft 'pop'.

When the time indicator firmly pointed to the three-minute and fifty-second mark, above the head of the seated Du Yun, the wisps of scattered and disordered blue smoke from the Enlightenment Incense suddenly paused, retracted inward, and condensed—a clear, round, blue-green smoke ring quietly appeared.

"3 minutes and 50 seconds." Someone in the crowd was constantly watching the timer.

"This speed of entering concentration, in the previous session, would have been a guaranteed first place— — — —" A young man who was clearly a current student of Kindling University rubbed his eyes and smiled wryly, "What a pity, a Cheng Yaojin appeared halfway through."

The classmate beside him repeatedly nodded, and his gaze couldn't help but turn back to the ordinary youth who had completed concentration in three minutes.

"What kind of monsters are the Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters of this session?" Several senior students exchanged glances in low voices, seeing the hint of worry about being 'left behind by the surging tide' on each other's faces.

The following time was a desolate and difficult journey of immersion for the first batch of two hundred people in the Enlightenment Chamber, but for the outside audience, it was more like a long period of waiting for a lottery drawing.

Several more people successively had blue smoke rings appear above their heads, successfully entering concentration.

However, their time was far less astonishing than Du Yun's.

Time continued to flow, seven minutes, eight minutes— — — —

When the last examinee barely managed to condense a smoke ring above his head as the time reached nearly eight minutes, faint, uncontrollable yawns began to sound in the crowd.

The two hundred silent statues were frozen in the amber of time, only fine dust slowly drifting in the beams of light penetrating from the high windows.

An hour passed in a flash.

"Clang—!"

When the melodious and deep bell rang through the entire Enlightenment Space without warning, it struck the depths of every concentrated mind like a long dream spanning a century.

Two hundred pairs of silent eyes trembled violently as if hit by a strong light, and then opened.

Most people still had intense confusion, intoxication, and lingering regret in their eyes, as if they had been forcibly dragged back from an incomparably wonderful but abruptly ended dream.

"Holy crap! Time's up already?"

A burly boy almost jumped up, his face full of annoyance and unwillingness, "I had just understood the force application of that axe strike."

"It's over— — — — I only completely comprehended two Moves. That's too few." A girl with a baby face in the crowd turned pale, unconsciously twisting the corner of her clothes.

"Last year, comprehending three Moves was enough to enter the top two hundred. I comprehended four Moves this time, so I should be safe."

Unlike the two, a relatively calmer boy, although sweating at the temples, revealed a look of joy.

For a time, there was joy for some and sorrow for others.

"Please leave immediately!"

Just as everyone woke up from their concentration, the cold mechanical voice sounded with an undeniable tone.

The two hundred people awoke as if from a dream, suppressed their complex emotions, stood up in order, and filed out of that space filled with profound aura, carrying feelings of apprehension, luck, or frustration.

Upon entering the clear air of the plaza, the two hundred people immediately separated and stood according to their comprehended weapon styles, without any delay.

The indescribable profoundness in the Enlightenment Chamber had just faded, and the memory was still fresh—it was the golden time to immediately practice and consolidate.

In an instant, the plaza was filled with the rapid sound of wind breaking, the sharp whistle of blades tearing the air, and the sharp cries of stabbing long spears.

The ordinary, unremarkable youth who was the first to enter concentration chose the sword.

His starting stance was as simple as a farmer wielding a hoe, but the next movement suddenly changed, and a chilling sword intent arose.

Thrust, sweep, lift, chop— — — — the transitions between Moves were smooth and flowing, implying a kind of natural trajectory.

Nine Swords!

From the dense, rain-like short thrusts, to the magnificent sight where the surrounding dust momentarily seemed to pause when a single sword was thrust out—all were displayed.

The senior attendant from Kindling Hall responsible for recording beside him stared intently, reporting clearly: "Nine Sword Dao Moves. Recording complete."

The voice was calm, but the slightly accelerated speed of speech betrayed the inner shock.

"Nine Moves— — — —"

"A full nine Moves?!"

The continuous gasps of surprise erupted uncontrollably from the crowd.

Although they had anticipated that the youth who entered concentration in three minutes must have extraordinary qualities, the number nine was like a huge rock thrown into a deep pool, stirring up a thousand waves.

This not only broke the record of the previous session but also represented a terrifying Comprehension Ability beyond the scope of ordinary people's understanding.

"The champion of the Comprehension Ability assessment in the previous session only comprehended a complete seven Moves— — — —" a student who knew the information from the last session murmured, looking at the youth with completely changed eyes, filled with reverence, "But he comprehended nine Moves."

Several Marquis-level Experts who were sitting steadily on the main platform leaned slightly forward in unison.

Several gazes pierced through the crowd, landing precisely, and without concealment, on the still somewhat constrained youth, filled with undisguised appreciation and inquiry.

A green-browed old man's motion of stroking his beard unconsciously quickened slightly, and he murmured to the person next to him: "This child's Comprehension Ability is indeed top-tier. Even if his preliminary selection or combat results are slightly inferior, he is worth cultivating."